10.17862/cranfield.rd.4898150.v1Sonia Garcia AlcegaFrederic CoulonSean TyrrelChemical fingerprint database of bioaerosols2017Cranfield Online Research Data (CORD)Bioaerosols2017-04-21 10:08:05articlehttps://cord.cranfield.ac.uk/articles/Chemical_fingerprint_database_of_bioaerosols/4898150<p>The impact of emissions
from urban, agricultural and industrial scenarios on local air quality is of
growing policy concern. Deleterious health effects can arise following exposure
to infective microbes and the exposure risk to bioaerosols are difficult to
quantify in real time. Current monitoring methods are labour intensive and a
standardised protocol does not exist yet. Additionally, capturing sufficient
amounts of material to generate distinguishable and reproducible patterns for
bioaerosols identification and classification is still difficult. To overcome the inherent limitations of culturing, chemical fingerprint analysis of microbial biomarkers
such as phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and microbial volatile organic
compounds (MVOCs) is proposed. Different air samples collection devices are
currently being tested (Coriolis, Tenax® cartridges and polycarbonate filters)
and each method will be evaluated depending on the complexity of the sampling,
laboratory procedure, compounds identified and the limit of detection of the
equipment.</p>